Electrical engineer and suffragist. Born Phoebe Sarah Marks in Portsmouth. Aged 16 began teaching in London. Studied maths at Girton College Cambridge. Married William Ayrton in 1885. Elected a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1899 and was the only woman member until 1958 (shame on them). In 1902 she was proposed for the Royal Society but this was blocked because a married woman had no standing in law and so was ineligible. Not surprisingly Hertha supported the militant suffragists and marched in all the suffrage protests, in academic gown, which, of course, she was not entitled to wear. Mrs Pankhurst and other hunger strikers were nursed in her home and Hertha declared herself "proud" when her daughter Barbara was imprisoned. Barbara went on to become an MP and to produce Michael Ayrton, the artist. Hertha died in Sussex.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Hertha Ayrton
Commemorated ati
Hertha Ayrton
Hertha Ayrton, 1854 - 1923, physicist, lived here, 1903 - 1923. English Herit...
Other Subjects
University of Ulster Trans-Gender Archive
Founded by Richard Ekins at the University of Ulster. The Archive ceased its connection with the University of Ulster in July 2010, when Richard Ekins became Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Cul...
Ray Strachey
Feminist, Liberal politician, mathematician, engineer, artist and writer. NUWSS, unsuccessfully stood for Parliament. Born as Rachel Pearsall Conn Costelloe. 1911 she married civil servant Oliver ...
Caroline Martineau
Born Caroline Anne, daughter of Richard Martineau, a director and partner of the Whitbread Brewery. Early on she was interested in the study of natural science, attending lectures at the Royal Ins...
Bedford College for Women, University of London
Founded by Elizabeth Jesser Reid as the Ladies College, the first higher education college for women. In 1900 it became part of the University of London and in 1913 moved to larger purpose built p...
Wandsworth LGBT+ Forum
A group that focuses on the development and support of LGBT groups, organisations and projects so they can deliver direct services and campaign for individual rights.
Previously viewed
Corporation of the City of London
The municipal governing body of the City of London. Officially the 'Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London'. In 2006 the name was changed from just 'Corporation of London' to disti...
Greater London Council
Replaced the LCC. The GLC was abolished, some say, because Mrs Thatcher could not abide its left-wing politics, nor its leader, Ken Livingstone. On its 50th anniversary Diamond Geezer posted a goo...
Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them